A cashless Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge has joined the Sydney Harbour Tunnel in being completely cashless, with the last cash tolls in the bridge’s 77 year history being collected on the morning of 11 January 2009. An e-tag or pass is now needed to make the southbound journey.
The RTA claims that “making the Bridge fully cashless will help improve traffic conditions and ease congestion.” 160,000 vehicles make the trip each day with approximately 2000 vehicles able to move through the e-lane each hour, compared to 400 in the cash lane.
For anybody who does not have an e-tag but wants to make the journey south across the bridge, you can contact the RTA on 131 865 prior to your journey to acquire a pass or within 48 hours of your trip to arrange payment.
Should regular users of the Sydney Harbour Bridge be required to use an e-tag or pass, or should there be a cash option?
Have you noticed an improvement in traffic conditions since the cash tolls were removed?
Related posts:
January 13th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I suppose you can only really have one or the other. If you have one cash lane you can’t say ‘the bridge is going to be cashless’ and you won’t have the numbers required for the e-tag stuff to pay off.
Even so, I think cash should be an option.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:39 pm
This State can’t get the simplest things right, and it has been happening for years. How come you can fly to Melbourne, hire a car at the airport and at the same time and at the same place, enter the details of the car into a machine (the hire car staff even kindly prompt you to do it) submit your payment and there you go, you are ready for the motorway. Here there is an administration “fee” for this and that etc for everything and no-one is happy. I refer particularly to those who infrequently come to Sydney or don’t travel much even if they live in Sydney (it’s a big place nowadays). Especially dangerous for some older drivers if they miss paying and panic a bit trying to fing a way to remember or write down the number to call. It’s not enough to say that country drivers can go to a Motor Registry to sort it out before they come. 0 out of 6 country drivers I asked did not know of this option. Not good enough.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Of course it should be cashless. Provided there is an easy way for those who need to use a tollroad unexpectedly to pay by phone within a couple of days, there are no valid arguments against doing it. Not one.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:35 pm
there should be a lane for cash only
January 21st, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Going cashless was just a matter of “sooner or later”. A lot of countries have had cashless tolls for ages and it’s only appropriate for a city such as Sydney with such big volumes of cars to have cashless tolls. It just doesn’t make sense when the whole world is waiting to go through the tolls and this one person is holding everthing up looking for coins or worst still, gettting out of the car to pickup coins!?
January 21st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Going cashless will only force more drivers onto the Gladesville/Anzac Bridge which will make an unbearable journey even more so. During these holidays I can drive from Gladesville to Surry Hills in 20 minutes. Without holidays it takes between an hour to an hour and a quarter….gawd forbid what effect the cashless system will have on traffic!
January 21st, 2009 at 9:23 pm
I think that going cashless was inevitable and we should move with the times. However Vern is correct that it should be made easier for out-of-towners. When I took the Tullamarine tollway last year, I had only to pay at a vending machine at the airport. When the vending machine wouldn’t take my card, I picked up the handset and spoke to a human and sorted out everything. Surely the RTA can do as well? How about some kind of prepaid card sold at newsagents like bus tickets? I’m sure something can be devised?
January 21st, 2009 at 9:56 pm
In Melbourne they have CityLink toll roads and when those roads were introduced they introduced E-Tags and various payment options if you use the road without the tag, one of which is paying at the Post Office. All you had to do is within 24 hrs of using the road you go to any post office, give them your number plate and it’s on their computer system the details of which tolls were used and how much you owe. SIMPLE!!! Why do Sydney-siders have to have different e-tolls, e-passes or whatever to use different roads and it only works if you have a regular income for direct debit or you have a credit card. Whatever happened to simple methods of payment. Why can’t they send me a bill? They’re charging an administration fee anyway…I use the bridge about once or twice a year. I use the M5 about once a month. That’s it for toll roads so why should I be forced to acquire an e-tag if I never use it? I’ll be happy if paying a toll is simple and doesn’t require a credit card and I can talk to someone face-to-face…not asking much!!!
January 21st, 2009 at 10:13 pm
It just doesn’t make sense when the whole world is waiting to go through the tolls and this one person is holding everthing up.
I copied this from the post above, sorry it made me laugh due to my experience today.
I’m at a Servo in Sydney on cheap Tuesday, 8:00 am, everyones in a hurry to get to work, but need the cheap petrol. There is one bloke at the bowser who has paid for his petrol, ( I was behind him at the counter ) who is now cleaning ALL his windows, meanwhile a queue at this bowser is very agitated.
This is a thoughtless driver.
But until the act of carrying cash is made illegal, all payment options should be catered for on any Toll road.
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:08 am
It is about time. Stopping to pay $$ is simply not friendly to anyone especially the environment. It is a different matter of course on whether there should be a toll in the first place. How many times do we need to pay for the bridge and its maintenance
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:26 am
All toll roads should be cashless. BUT, all vehicles should be provided with an electronic tag free of charge and free of account charges.
This is the only way to ensure that these roads will be used correctly.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
Bruce has it almost right above. The eTag should come with the annual registration and be accounted for in the same way. How simple can it be. Government seems to be a decision and innovation free zone. When will we start seeing some innovation from public servants rather than mindless adherence to the old inefficient ways of doing things.
I have had an eTag for many years even though I live in Canberra and use the toll roads infrequently. This is all about being efficient with our use of resources. I tis not an inconvenience to have a tag. I now have two tags and share one with my son who goes to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane much less frequently than I do. If I go interstate, I take a tag with me and register the registration of the car I am using on my tag for the duration. It really makes me laugh when the speedsters without a tag come up to the toll plaza and have to pull in to make a payment. All that effort and zigging and zagging out of the traffic to find themselves at the back of the queue once again. The cost of the extra petrol would pay for the cost of the tag.
Progress is part of life. Once upon a time we had to have a man walking in front of moving vehicles with a red flag. Imagine if we had not progressed from that. Please get over it. In the words of the great american philosopher “that’s all I have to say about that”.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Cashless is fine. Tags are not (unless they’re free/included in rego).
Tags are relatively new but the system is already antiquated; Pay at the post office with in 24 hours?? Call a number within 48 hours afterwards?? Please.
Use cameras for each road section to obtain your rego then send the owner an invoice, like it’s been done in other cities & countries for years – even for hire cars.
It’s already the 21st century. Let’s get NSW up to date.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I don’t live in Sydney and have driven over the bridge about twice in my 20 yrs of driving. When I am in Sydney, I am usually running around madly getting things done before I head home. Setting time limits on payments would likely mean that I wouldn’t get it paid in time. Bryce’s suggestion of an invoice makes sense… though it would have to cover ALL the tollways so that you’re not bombarded with individual bills for each one. I just pray they don’t make the M4 cashless – that would make my visits to Sydney a living hell!
The system needs to be simplified both for out-of-towners and tourists.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I think there should be at least one cash lane open between 10.00am and 4.00pm and 8.00pm until 5.00am on weekdays. In addition, it should be open on Saturday afternoons after 1.00pm and all day on Sundays. What about tourists and even local day trippers or people from the suburbs that would like to go into the city once in a while for shopping, sightseeing or maybe medical appointments. My taxes and car registrations over the last 40 odd years, along with everyone else’s have paid for the bridge… I think it’s an indictment of the Labour governments that they have any toll on it at all. The NRMA needs to remember that not all of it’s members go to work in the city and should be doing more lobbying to get all tolls removed on all roads for all drivers. The government collect enough in taxes and registrations to more than look after and build more roads without tolls.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Vern has got it spot on – I had the same pleasant experience in Melbourne. There was also a $15 limit on how much you would pay in a day if my memory serves me correctly i.e. it didn’t matter how toll roads you used the maximum spend was $15 for the day. NSW is a mess by comparison and definitely unfriendly to country and occasional users let alone the aged or disabled. Too many different toll operators I suspect.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:21 pm
As far as I know the Constitution states that Money is the Legal Tender and as such acceptance must be provided for all transactions
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I have 2 student kids, can’t afford a tag for all vehicles. All are linked to my tag. Costs me an extra 75c everytime one of them uses a Toll road when the tag is not onboard.
I stand by this.
Until the act of carrying cash is made illegal, all payment options should be catered for on any Toll road.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:37 am
There’s a better solution – TOLL FREE roads…
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:48 am
On Monday 11th Jan, my friend from Holland rang the number only to find that half the 160,000 were also ringing the RTA. She was on hold for an hour before she finally could organise to pay. Tried going online but the only options were to set up an account. I did warn her to do something about it every day for the previous two weeks, so I really didnt have much sympathy for her predicament on Monday. Is it human nature to react rather than be pro-active?
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
By going ‘cashless’ gives the RTA license to charge what they like when they like – and – they already are – the different tolls for different times of the day.
January 24th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I am certain we’ve all used the electronic parking meters around town what’s wrong with one lane with one or more of these units off to the side so as not to cause traffic hold ups to people with e-tags . you swipe your card and off you go. these units could also be installed at servo’s near toll ways you could fill up with fuel and have the option of paying toll for the day ,week or month. a good option for out of town travellers or infrequent users.
A thought from a suspicious mind once all cars have e-tags we can probably expect that they will be used by the RTA to collect fines etc !
January 24th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
System penalises those who, like myself, who are from the bush,do not have an etag, by charging an administration fee to get a pass.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I wouldn’t put it past em, Roy. Once they have your credit card details and you agree to allow them to debit it, who knows where it will end up.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
The answer is so easy. If you do not like the new system DO NOT use it. Stop your whinning and make a difference.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I live on the northern beaches, use the harbour bridge at most twice a month, the M2/7 once in a blue moon, and simply DO NOT WANT AN E-TAG! I do not want to pay, what is for me, a substantial amount up front for a service I only use occasionally; I will not allow any organisation open access to my bank account; I do not want my movements recorded on some huge database; and I do not want to have to pay a service fee for occasional use that more than doubles the cost of the journey. If a toll is essential, what is so difficult about leaving one right-money cash basket on the Cahill Expressway? However, more to the point still, I and my ancestors have well and truly paid for the Bridge, and it should now be ours without further charge and not providing a permanent cash-cow for a dysfunctional State government.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I travel to a doctor once a week on the north side of Sydney. Why should I,as a low income earner,have to pay admin charges for an e-tag or pass. Any introduction of e-tags should have been revenue neutral,but the NSW ALP Government has an obsession with revenue-raising from motorists,so there are these extra charges.
Similarly,I don’t have a credit card in order to top up the e-tag or pass. Why not have a pre-paid tag which can be topped up,just as easily as a mobile phone can. Oh,I just remembered,this is the same NSW ALP Government which can’t get an integrated ticketing system for public transport(when Victoria had such a system in 1985 & under an ALP Gov’t too!!),so it stands to reason such incompetence will prevail with electronic tolling.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
After the end of cash toll collection on 11 January 2009, lanes 5 & 6 on the Harbour Bridge were closed, and those like me who wanted to use the “bridge” lanes were diverted into lanes 7 & 8, the Cahill Expressway and a bus lane.
Today I’ve received a fine for driving in the bus lane. This was at 10:13 PM on Sunday evening, as I was directed by the signs and barriers.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:23 am
[...] A cashless Sydney Harbour Bridge | NRMA Motoring Blog [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:38 am
I recently returned from three months in thailand and had no idea the harbour bidge had gone cashless as I actually live 500km from sydney when I’m in Australia.
Last week i drove to Sydney for the first time in nine months, and the next day drove from my sister’s house in Petersham to my work office in North sydney (i work from home mostly). When I left work I took the berry st/mount st southbound entrance to the harbour bridge, thinking i could pay my $3 in cash.
I soon discovered the bridge was now like the tunnel and i couldn’t pay. No worries i though. This had happened a year before in melbourne when driving with a friend on a cashless road and we’d just read all the signs and rang the number listed and paid for the toll that arvo at a post office.
So I looked for some information on the bridge, at the toll booth areas etc and as i left the bridge to find out who to ring or where to pay or what to do and there was absolutely nothing to explain anything. The next day i asked my sister about it and she ‘thought’ i could go online and pay for it. I figured I would sort it out when I got home and had my computer and internet connection etc.
I drove home yesterday, but after a long drive with a one year old by myself, was too tired to sort it out last night. So I jump online this morning and find out there’s a 48 hour limit and i’m now going to be fined.
This is absolutely ridiculous. I am a part pensioner / part-time worker and full time single mum who is struggling for cash, and I’m now going to get penalised for something i didn’t even know anything about.
Unless they can come up with an easier and more transparent way of paying for one-time toll fees for infrequent users like myself, then yes, there should be a cash lane, or at least an electronic card accepter (much like in carparks) where you can insert your credit card or keycard and pay that way.
March 16th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
It is quiet strange when I drive around Sydney I do not own a tag and do not intend to. I pay for my road tax in my registration if you have a look at the breakdown of your registration. If there was another $20.00 put onto your roadtax and all the tolls removed would make for a better and happier Sydney. I went to Mosman the other day from Kurrajong and I did not use and expressway which is a parking lot. I will not and never buy a tag like a lot of other people in Sydney. The State Government are just a parasitic group for every penny they can obtain from the general public to fullfill their
crippling contracts to the toll ways. You can drive around Sydney and still enjoy the drive without the worry of the beep on the dash and the debiting of your bank account. It has reached the stage that the Commonwealth needs to take over state authority which was the object of the Australian Constitution and have some rational played into the equation.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:19 am
I live in the Central West and do not need an e-tag, but I will be in Sydney next week as my daughter is having surgery, but we are also going to treat it as a small holiday for our 4 children. We do not know yet if we will be going across the harbour bridge or not and I absolutely refuse to buy an e-tag “just in case”.
They really haven’t thought this through for people who live out of the city. But then again, this is the same government who think NSW stands for Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:22 am
While all this toll nonsense is highly undesirable, there is sometimes just no way of avoiding it.
The best deal for the present would be to get a tag from Queensland motorways. It can be used all over Australia, cost $25 ( of prepaid toll). There is no deposit needed, and no account fees. The only downside is you cannot participate in the M4/M5 cashback scheme.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I am very inclined to avoid paying any tag deposit or registration fees to the RTA. What do they need a $40 deposit/ monthly account fees for anyway from a million motorists. How come Queensland can do it for free.
Pojaya’s suggestion is great.
By the way from reading about M4/M5 cash rebate(M4 phased out next Feb) on the RTA pdf
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/publicationsstatisticsforms/downloads/45061492.pdf
it looks as if you can claim for these as long as you give the receipts from the Queensland toll account provider
to the RTA.
What will the RTA do when they find a significant proportion of Sydneysiders
using a Queensland toll provider.
They can’t do much since the Federal government is moving towards
national ease of use.
July 30th, 2009 at 11:45 am
[...] January this year, we reported the news that the Sydney Harbour Bridge was going cashless. As of mid-January, an e-tag or similar is needed to use either the Harbour Bridge or the Harbour [...]
August 6th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I was all set to write that there should be a cash lane for infrequent users, but having read other people’s Melbourne experiences, the Queensland system, and suggestions about freely supplied e-tags or walking into a post office that has everything on computer, it sounds like it is the RTA that’s the problem, not the cashless toll!
I must say it angers me greatly that I have between 1 and 3 toll entries on my quarterly statement, and more often than not am eligible to claim these back (M4 &M5) yet every second statement or so they steal another $20 out of my account to keep the balance up around $37 (12-18months worth of tolls based on our usage). I bet if I had use of government money for that long they’d charge me interest or something! (not to mention an admin fee for claiming trips back that were done in a privately registered car on a weekend – something the RTA knows already.)
August 6th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
12 free e-toll pass should be given to all motoris on rego renewals per vehicles as people interstate or out of town should not be penalised
August 7th, 2009 at 9:00 am
There should not be tolls. We pay taxes. The toll on the Harbour bridge should have been abolished years ago.
August 8th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Why is there a toll on the Harbour Bridge when it was paid for many years ago
August 10th, 2009 at 2:20 am
Lets make our State Capital as unuser friendly as possible. It is often not possible to pre pay for a toll, especially if you are going somewhere new and don’t know you will need one. There should be at least one lane for those that don’t have the tag.
August 25th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Cashless is ok, $40 deposit for a tag is not ok with me. Nor are the extra fee’s concerned with the online “E-pass” system. there should be an easy way to make payments ONLINE within 48hrs without the need to register, or pay extra fee’s.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I can say how frustrated and angry I am.
Today I have sent almost two hours trying to get some information from the RTA about the toll on the Harbor Bridge.
If I lived in Sydney I would be so ashamed and embarrassed about the way you let your government and Harbor Bridge management people treat visitors to your beautiful city.
I was only in Sydney for a short time and it was magical, with the exception of the dealing I have had with the toll bridge people. I now have a very bad taste in my mouth about how you have all accepted and cowered to the power and arrogance of the Harbor Bridge Toll colleting bosses.
My first comment is that on approaching the bridge I cannot recall seeing the full and un-disclosed fees and charges incurred for crossing our great bridge. I would be surprised if it was illegal to charge someone for something they have not agreed to, and have no idea the total cost involved in accepting the service. Then to top it all off you are fined if you do not pay for something you did not agree too. It is the epitome of arrogance.
When you go to the MyRTA web site and you enter the screen to add your credit card details. The site does not show as being in a secure zone so you can not be sure your credit card details are safe.
I tried to send some comments via the Myrta web site but the comments area does not work, I does not send the comments or questions simply gives an error after you enter your details and press the send button.
I visit Sydney very rarely and do not wish to have an account, I ask one simply thing. Let me pay my toll for crossing the bridge and contribute to the coffers of the Government, but don’t rip me off and make feel like I never want to visit the great city of Sydney again.
Every time I see the bridge on New Years Eve it will not have the same nostalgic and patriotic feeling as before. Now I know it it the home of a money stealing tyrant who does not give one iota about one of our national symbols and the memories of visitors to a great city, just a way to rip more people off.
I will not pay the admin fees, the video search fees and any other fees they threaten to extort from me, but I will send them the standard crossing amount (and a reasonable admin fee) in cash to their office. If they are not happy with that then I will see them in court where I can have my say and standup for what I believe is a fair go for all. It is a shame more Sydney siders did not do the same when they realised they were being ripped off..
December 14th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
How long do we have to keep paying for using our bridge?
1) We pay taxes
2) Motorists have been paying for traveling over the bridge for 77 years now….. and at increasingly higher fees!
3) “160,000 vehicles make the trip each day” this number multiplied by the “time of day tolling” is around *half a million dollars* PER DAY !!!
Now in Sydney we are at a stage where every reasonable road we travel on attracts an exorbitant fee. WE PAY TAXES!
It is our Governments responsibility to use our money for these things, not to just keep funneling extra money out of us. I understand to need for upkeep, & improvements…. but just how much money does it take?
January 27th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Another victim…
Visited Sydney January 18 after 6 years of absence. From the city went to Manly and on the way back got a surprise… no cash-booths.
Unable to turn around, and pressured by other traffic, there was no time to think what the difference might be between Tag and Pass lanes. In a bit of panick (chanaging lanes) I ventured into a bus lane (not realising it), and got a fine in the mail… $253.00.
Welcome to Sydney!!!
January 27th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
To add…
I did register for a E-Pass within 24 hours, and the operator on the help line said it makes no difference what lane I used.
They charged the admin fee and now hope to collect the huge fine as well… from an age pensioner.
April 16th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
For a foreign and first time travelor to Sydney, it is unfriendly and unfamilar system to use with big fine. I don’t visit Sydney again.
June 11th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
I passed Harbour Bridge this evening without having a pass/tag. I knew there was a way to pay the toll after trip, but never thought this would be that hard. Not everyone is tech gig. Some are not familiar with all those technology including websites. Too many questions to fill up to pay bloody $3 !!! (oh, other extras on top of it. Very unhappy) I have spent more than 1hour to know how to pay, where to pay, and the final payment process.
I rather detour (I travelled from Mosman to Pyrmont) to Victoria rd which would take me another 10mins, but it’s worthier than paying $3+$1.50+$.75 .
If I were a tourist visiting Sydney driving a hire car, I would get freaked out on Harbour bridge to make a 0.05sec decision of which lane to take. 2years ago, when I came to Sydney from Melbourne, I accidentally drove into Sydney Harbour tunnel, because for the first time user, it’s really complicate, and you need to make at least 3decisions while driving 70km/h.
This makes me not wanting to live in Sydney. Sad..
Can someone make a change?
I like prepaid card idea, and wouldn’t mind going to post office (like in Melb)
I understand we live in a fast paced world and a city, but not everyone is able to cope with that, or unable to follow every changes the government makes.
June 13th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
I’m an age pensioner,living in the central coast,and visiting my daughter and granchildren by car about twice a year ,and the other times by public transport.I hate the Bridge now,and always take a long way around to avoid it.I do not intend to buy a TAG,and pay a deposit for it.I read all the comments and agree with most of them,but what is the NRMA doing about it ? Why they are not representing their customers,and transmit all this information to the authorities,and express and voice their opinion in black and white? Who is looking after us ?Contact your MP,make them work!!
MAX REICH.13 June 2010
July 9th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
All great comments and I love it that I’m not alone, but who is listening??! The politicians we pay to do this job are certainly not.
Still, I will say what I think: we do not need tolls – we already pay taxes.
It’s a ridiculous thing that one has to pay for a road, unlike in most other countries. The road network is typical infrastructure and even Ancient Roman or Persian Empire did not charge for using roads. Why are we being charged? Especially when a road commission is a very beneficial building project for employment and the economy, as everybody knows. I detest the idea that I need to plan ahead or jump though hoops in retrospect just because I used a road!! Such advanced things roads are, they are so special and rarely used, that one cannot help but know ahead of time their place in a daily plan. And one could say ‘it’s not all roads, only this and that road’, but then what is the point of the road NETWORK if it is segmented to parts by special roads like the tunnel and the bridge? How can i feel ‘free’ in this country of freedom when I cannot just drive wherever I want and have a simple way of contributing – ie. taxes?
To me the solution they introduced is an issue of time. Their solution is just another time sucking activity. I am really so sick of them! On top of the costs, it’s the time. Pay insurance, pay rent, find a new washing machine every 4 years because it breaks, tax form, banking, dockets at the checkout because they overcharge (by mistake of course, but it’s always more, never less price), do your own checkout at the supermarket, take care of your own pension (spend time controlling where your money is, spend time learning to be a financial consultant or trust a company who will fold and steal your money), paperwork in new jobs, paperwork with your credit cards, rebates, keeping up with the constant changes in health insurance and calling the insurer before seeing a dentist with the item numbers so you will know how much money you should take, getting a lease every 6 months, wasting time listening to music in call centres, going after your postal parcel delivery (during work hours) that is returned to the post office, etc – does it ever end??? It’s especially bad when during any of these processes at least one mistake per transaction applies. And then it’s your responsibility to call and correct it, again and again… I can understand the repairman who was on hold at a call centre for longer than he thought reasonable, and sent the bank or whatever it was a bill with his hourly fees… If government and companies can charge us fees, so can we!! It can be much more simple, look at some other countries, or look into the not so distant past – we could have a lot more free time available if things were simpler. What else are we alive for and work for, but to spend some quality time?
So to me, the solution the state government has found is an issue with my time. I work 40 hours a week, and want to spend the rest with positive activities of life for which I work to keep alive. It’s really too much now.